FACT

[xxxMidgexxx]

'Call the Comet' by Johnny Marr is better than ANY of Moz' solo albums.

Prove me wrong, you shan't.

That is all.

[gregpolard]

lol no

[xxxMidgexxx]

yep.

[JGJR]

Craziness; I like Marr's solo albums OK, but c'mon.

[xxxMidgexxx]

Craziness; I like Marr's solo albums OK, but c'mon.

Not 1 Moz solo album is better. NOT 1.

NOT even 1.

[target]

Fact: this "Comet is coming" song is better than anything Moz ever did....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G55GspnNkBo

[scannest]

I like that! Reminds me of a less "retro" obsessed Budos Band.

Still not better than anything Moz ever did.

[target]

Scannest, I'll come clean and admit that I've never even listened to a Moz album, so my post was uninformed. Just a good chance to post Comet is Coming! i like them too---some of their stuff is free-jazzy, and some of it fits right into a rave/festival territory.

I really, really like the first two Budos band albums but unless someone tells me their follow ups charted any new ground,i think i don't need to get any more....

[scannest]

I really, really like the first two Budos band albums but unless someone tells me their follow ups charted any new ground,i think i don't need to get any more....

So, you never listened to their metal album? I love it!

[patient_ot]

I like Marr's solo albums quite a lot, but his career and Moz's solo stuff are chalk and cheese.

For one, Moz does not play any instruments really and has to work with co-writers/guitar-based songwriters. Number two, Moz has not made a truly great solo album in decades.

Another big difference is that Marr's recent solo stuff sounds like a real band (especially live) that worked hard on getting things right. Moz's recent stuff sounds like a diva past his prime over a crop of boring session men.

[JGJR]

I like that! Reminds me of a less "retro" obsessed Budos Band.

Still not better than anything Moz ever did.

I would rather talk about Shabaka Hutchings in this day and age than Moz, so I'll say that as my first time listening to this, I really enjoyed it. If you like it and specifically his sax playing, though, one of his other groups (Sons of Kemet) put out an absolutely incredible album in 2018 called Your Queen is a Reptile. I'm still absorbing the new one (Black is the Future). It's good, but very different. Here's one of the tracks.

[JGJR]

I really, really like the first two Budos band albums but unless someone tells me their follow ups charted any new ground,i think i don't need to get any more....

So, you never listened to their metal album? I love it!

I didn't get around to listening to this one. I love this, but aside from a few hints of early Black Sabbath, it's not particularly metal. Ultimately, it doesn't matter, though. Who cares if it's metal? They could be psychedelic bluegrass and it wouldn't change the fact that it's great.

[lewdd]

That sounds like a Doors instrumental with horns

[SamDBL]

I like Marr's solo albums quite a lot, but his career and Moz's solo stuff are chalk and cheese.

For one, Moz does not play any instruments really and has to work with co-writers/guitar-based songwriters.

Dude, I *just* had this revelation after a conversation with a friend. This friend is friends with Alain Whyte. Alain left Morrisey, and started a solo band. The assumption being that if he even got 1/100th of Morrisey's crowd, he'd be doing alright. But actually *no one* cared or showed up to any of the shows. I'm talking like 3-5 people on a given night just to get Morrisey records signed. That's not the case with Marr. Which got me to thinking that if you are part of an entity, such as the Smiths, you receive 'credit' from the audience as an equal member. But once the marque is changed to a solo name, the side men are interchangeable and meaningless to the majority of the fans. Which is odd. Because, as you say, the musicians like Alain are almost totally responsible for the music being written on those Morrisey albums. I think that's a shame. But I also believe it's a bit of a scam to refer to such an entity as a solo act.

[gregpolard]

To me, MORRISSEY from 1992-1997 was a BAND.

Sorta like Danzig

The lineup with Alain & Boz

[SamDBL]

To me, MORRISSEY from 1992-1997 was a BAND.

Sorta like Danzig

The lineup with Alain & Boz

Yes, Danzig is the other glaring example. Although *supposedly* he is the actual song writer in that band (up for debate, given how the sound seems to change dramatically from line-up to line-up). In one regard, I get it. You've been in a band as an equal member, paid your dues, totally ended in shit. So in your next venture, it makes sense to run it as 'im the unquestionable boss and ceo/i can fire you whenever the fuck i want for any reason without any legal consequences'. Making it a 'solo' band is the simplest way to do that. But I think you could still do that in a more ethical way without misleading the audience.

[JGJR]

To me, MORRISSEY from 1992-1997 was a BAND.

Sorta like Danzig

The lineup with Alain & Boz

100% this and so it's not a coincidence that Your Arsenal (1992) and Vauxhall & I (1994) are IMO by far his 2 best studio albums, not counting compilations (otherwise, the answer is always Bona Drag). Long story short, he is only as good as his collaborators.

I don't think I've ever listened to any Danzig past Lucifuge, but same idea with his 1st 4, etc. too.

[patient_ot]

To me, MORRISSEY from 1992-1997 was a BAND.

Sorta like Danzig

The lineup with Alain & Boz

100% this and so it's not a coincidence that Your Arsenal (1992) and Vauxhall & I (1994) are IMO by far his 2 best studio albums, not counting compilations (otherwise, the answer is always Bona Drag). Long story short, he is only as good as his collaborators.

I don't think I've ever listened to any Danzig past Lucifuge, but same idea with his 1st 4, etc. too.

With Moz, I think his best solo record was his first, Viva Hate. Of course he was working with Vini Reilly (Durutti Column) then, who he quickly dropped afterwards AFAIK.

YA and VAI would alternate between 2 and 3 for me. After that I quickly lose interest.

If we are talking comps, I definitely prefer the much more complete 3xCD HMV Singles set over Bona Drag.

[lewdd]

I lost most of my interest in Moz after Viva Hate. I don't think he ever topped "Suedehead" and "Everyday Is Like Sunday".

[scannest]

My fave solo Moz by far is YOUR ARSENAL, and I give most of the credit for that to Mick Ronson's production.

As far as Marr goes, he is in the same bucket as Noel G in that they were amazing songwriters in their respective bands, with a very unique style. And neither has done much other than the occasional song here and there as a solo artist.

[gregpolard]

My fave solo Moz by far is YOUR ARSENAL, and I give most of the credit for that to Mick Ronson's production.

As far as Marr goes, he is in the same bucket as Noel G in that they were amazing songwriters in their respective bands, with a very unique style. And neither has done much other than the occasional song here and there as a solo artist.

Your Arsenal is his best album. I agree. The only one that comes close for me is Vauxhall & I but I still think YA is his #1

[scannest]

That's pretty terrific.
I was talking last night to a friend who is a publicist who works with some jazz artists. He was saying how he's having a really difficult time getting traction on one his client's new record. The client is an established, long working jazz sorta-legend. I tried to chalk it up to a general disinterest in jazz and he corrected me - said that there is a new, young, and fairly large audience for jazz right now. They just have no interest in old, white dudes. They want stuff like this, or Kamasi Washington, or Thundercat. It was encouraging to hear that jazz is still evolving and that there is a young audience willing to follow it. Gives me hope for the future of rock music.

[JGJR]

My fave solo Moz by far is YOUR ARSENAL, and I give most of the credit for that to Mick Ronson's production.

As far as Marr goes, he is in the same bucket as Noel G in that they were amazing songwriters in their respective bands, with a very unique style. And neither has done much other than the occasional song here and there as a solo artist.

Your Arsenal is his best album. I agree. The only one that comes close for me is Vauxhall & I but I still think YA is his #1

100% this. I've always thought Viva Hate was about half great (and its 2 best songs, the ones lewdd mentioned, are on Bona Drag, released as singles, too, etc.) and half kinda meh tbh.